Sydney: Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova continued her pursuit of the No. 1 ranking by beating Daniela Hantuchova 6-0, 6-4 on Wednesday to move into the Sydney International semifinals against French Open winner Li Na.
Kvitova, who helped Czech Republic win the Hopman Cup on the weekend, needed just over an hour to beat Hantuchova, the losing finalist last week at the Brisbane International.
Kvitova can overhaul Caroline Wozniacki atop the rankings if she wins the title this week in Sydney, a key warm-up tournament ahead of the Australian Open.
Defending champion Li, who reached the Australian Open final last year before becoming the first player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros, had a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win over Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic.
"Of course I'm feeling good," Li said.
"I won in Sydney last year and this year I'm in the semis. It's just the beginning of the year, and I'm feeling much, much stronger."
No. 3-ranked Victoria Azarenka beat No. 9-ranked Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-4 and will next play either No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki or Agnieszka Radwanska.
The two evening quarterfinals were delayed by a power outage at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.
In the men's draw, top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro had an easy straight-sets win in his opening match at the Sydney International on Wednesday, while second-seeded John Isner was beaten by fellow American Bobby Reynolds.
Del Potro defeated Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 6-2 in the second-round match. Reynolds beat Isner 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Denis Istomin of Uzbekistsan also advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over American Ryan Sweeting.
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